Australia lost another 97 bank branches in the year to 30 June 2026, taking the net fall over five years to 1,215. The figures come from Canstar’s analysis of Points of Presence data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
There are now 3,108 branches nationwide, down 3% on the previous year and 28% on June 2021. Over a decade, the network has shrunk by about 45%, from 5,694 branches in June 2017, according to APRA’s Points of Presence statistics. Bank-owned ATMs fell faster, dropping 184 in a year to 4,959. That leaves the bank ATM network more than a third smaller than five years ago.
“Australia’s physical banking network is shrinking and it’s happening at two main points of presence – fewer branches to speak to someone face-to-face and fewer bank-owned ATMs to withdraw cash fee-free,” said Sally Tindall, Canstar’s data insights director.
For brokers, the trend means fewer in-person banking options for clients, particularly those who rely on cash or need help in person. Brokers are already the main channel for home lending. According to the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia, they facilitated a record 81.6% of new residential home loans in the June quarter.
Major cities bore the brunt, recording a net fall of 72 branches over the year. Outside major cities, combined branch numbers across inner regional, outer regional, remote, and very remote areas fell by just 25. That compares with 29 in the 2025 financial year and 122 in the 2022 financial year.
APRA’s latest Points of Presence statistics show the 1.7% fall in regional and remote branches was the smallest since the data series began, helped in part by a moratorium agreed between the government and the major banks.
The big four’s commitments vary in length. Commonwealth Bank has extended its moratorium to December 2030 and Westpac’s runs through 2030, while NAB’s and ANZ’s commitments expire in mid-2027.
Tindall said regional communities had gained some breathing room, but cautioned: “However, this problem has been paused, not solved.”
The moratoriums apply only to the major banks. APRA’s branch-level data shows Bank of Queensland, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, and Heritage and People’s Choice each reduced branches in regional areas over the year.
APRA’s data shows nearly all of the majors’ reductions were in major cities. Westpac’s only regional reduction was one inner regional branch, while ANZ’s network shifted by one branch from a major city to an outer regional area.
On ATMs, Commonwealth Bank made the deepest cut, removing 45. NAB was the only major to grow its fleet, adding 21 machines, although it still operates the fewest of the four.
Bank@Post, which lets customers make deposits, withdrawals, and balance enquiries at post offices, shrank by 61 outlets to 3,304. ANZ became the last of the majors to join the service in December 2025.
Canstar pointed to a 2025 Reserve Bank survey which found one-third of Australians would face hardship or major inconvenience if cash became difficult to access.
Tindall said it was encouraging that the Australian Banking Association was exploring solutions such as multi-bank hubs, but warned that any model must make banking easier to access and not undermine competition.
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